Corinne Skinner-Carter

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Corinne Skinner-Carter (born 1931) is a Trinidadian actress, based in the United Kingdom. She began acting professionally in the 1950s. She has worked in black British film and television, and is possibly best known for her role as Audrey Trueman in BBC's EastEnders.

[edit] Career

Skinner-Carter came from Trinidad to the UK in 1955 to train as a teacher. Whilst training, she supplemented her income by dancing and acting in film and television. She continued to perform whilst simultaneously working as a teacher for Islington Council in North London.^[1]

Her first acting role was a small part in a BBC play, The Green Pastures, in 1958. Skinner-Carter made an early uncredited appearance in the film Flame in the Streets in 1961, and throughout the 1960s she appeared as a dancer in Cleopatra (1963), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966) and Live and Let Die (1973). Other minor parts followed in shows such as Dixon of Dock Green, Play for Today, Coronation Street(1975) and Man about the House, until the late 1970s when she was cast as Hortense Bennett in the television drama series Empire Road (BBC, 1978-79), her breakthrough role.^[1]

For the next 10 years, Skinner-Carter worked mainly on television, appearing in Jury (1983), South of the Border (BBC, 1988-90) and Happy Families (BBC, 1989-90). She also appeared in other television series The Gentle Touch (LWT, 1980-84), Black Silk (BBC, 1985) and the short film Dreaming Rivers (1988). In the 1990s Skinner-Carter appeared in mainstream shows such as Rides (BBC, 1991-3), Touch of Frost, Lovejoy and Grange Hill. In 2000, she got her biggest role to date when she was cast in EastEnders for 32 episodes as Audrey Trueman. The role lasted until September 2001, when the character of Audrey was killed off. Following this, she landed roles in Doctors, Casualty and The Bill.^[1]